Despite the drawdown and waning attention by the American public, the San Clemente couple pressed on raising money for their Socks for Heroes campaign supporting Marines and soldiers deployed to the war zone. Since June 2011 they have sent more than 180,000 pairs overseas.

The Marine force in Helmand Province has thinned considerably since their son was killed in 2009 with Camp Pendleton’s 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

The 1/5 Marines are deployed at sea now with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The last troops are expected home from Afghanistan next year when the U.S.-led NATO combat mission ends.

But the upcoming Warrior Night Fun Shoot took on new life recently when former members of the infantry unit asked to compete Friday in honor of all 21 killed with the battalion in Nawa and then Sangin.

Memorial competitors include Marines recovering with the Wounded Warrior Battalion. Among those they will salute is Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan, 20, a Marine who died after warning his friends away from a hand-triggered bomb. Hogan was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

The idea for the memorial shoot began with another lance corporal from the battalion who wanted to compete on behalf of the fallen, Jim Hogan said. Now, “we will be honoring one Marine per shooting round.”

Hogan gathered their pictures for a banner to hang at the event. It was gut-wrenching looking at their handsome faces, many smiling, many in camouflage “battle rattle,” he said in a letter to supporters.

“I know the families of many of these men, along with many of the Marines whose lives they touched during their too-brief time among us,” he said. “I am grateful that their brothers continue to think of them and seek to honor them.”

New sponsors also pitched in. Raffle prizes include cash and guns. Grilled tuna sandwiches and other food is free. Basic pre-registration is $25 for civilians and $15 active duty military.

The Warrior Night Fun Shoot runs 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at On-Target in Laguna Niguel. To register, visit here. Time slots were available at press-time but the event was expected to sell out.

FILE - In this June 11, 2011 file photo, Lance Cpl Blas Trevino from 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, left, gestures towards his troops as he holds onto a gunshot wound in his belly while running towards a medevac helicopter from the US Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off", Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment after he got shot in the stomach, outside Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
— AP